Vientiane, Lao PDR, 28 June 2012—The Swedish government today provided US$ 8.5 million to the Mekong River Commission (MRC) to strengthen its management and development of water and related resources in the Lower Mekong Basin.

Reaffirming Sweden’s partnership with the organisation, the funding will support the operation of five MRC Programmes and institutional arrangements covering a period of three-and-a-half years until the end of 2015.

Vientiane, Lao PDR, 30th Apr 2012

All continents represented in debate on growing needs in the three sectors and seek solutions on transboundary river management

PHUKET, Thailand, April 30, 2012—About 300 river managers, leaders and other stakeholders from around the world will discuss ways transboundary rivers can best meet growing food, water and energy needs while minimizing negative consequences at a three-day international conference starting tomorrow.

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Ho Chi Minh City, Viet Nam

Environmental and hydropower experts will be meeting in Ho Chi Minh City over the next two days to discuss an assessment of the environmental and social impact of the 12 hydropower dams proposed for construction on the mainstream lower Mekong.

The MRC commissioned Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) of Proposed Mainstream Hydropower Dams in the Lower Mekong is due for release in August this year and this meeting will inform its final report. Consultants working on the SEA are expected to recommend

Vientiane, Lao PDR - Communities who live in the Mekong River Basin will significantly benefit from the improvements in flood forecasting and guidance that have been developed by the Flood Management and Mitigation Programme says the Mekong River Commission (MRC).

"Although they may be resource rich, most of the 60 million people of the basin who are farmers and fishers and who are poor, are highly vulnerable to floods. Floods endanger their lives, destroy their livelihoods and crops and exacerbate their living

Hau Hin, Thailand

The Danish Government has pledged today to provide nearly US$ 1 million (DKK 4.8 million) to help Mekong countries counter the effects of climate change.

The funding will go towards helping Cambodia, Lao PDR, Thailand and Viet Nam; the four Member Countries of the Mekong River Commission (MRC), to work together to mitigate the effects of changes in weather patterns that scientists say are expected over the coming decades in the Mekong River Basin.

"The people of the Mekong Basin are perhaps uniquely vulnerable to the impact of climate change, which

Hau Hin, Thailand

Efforts to create an integrated water resource development strategy across the Mekong river basin received a new boost today as the Finnish Government committed to a grant of Euros 1 million to support the MRC Water Management Trust Fund.

The Fund provides a rapid and flexible support mechanism for MRC policy and strategy development and implementation as well as responding to unforeseen short-term needs of Member Countries. In particular, the funding will support MRC Member Counties, Cambodia, Lao PDR, Thailand and Viet Nam, to formulate a new 5-year Strategy for

Bangkok, THAILAND

China has agreed to share hydrological data with countries in the lower basin says the Mekong River Commission (MRC), days before a high-level summit takes place in Hua Hin to discuss river management issues.

"China has indicated that it is prepared to begin providing the MRC Secretariat with data during this dry season from the hydro-meteorological stations at Jinghong and Man'an, starting this week," said Jeremy Bird, CEO of the MRC Secretariat at a press briefing in Bangkok today. "This is very positive news, as it shows

This report builds on the first State of the Basin Report, which was published in 2003. It describes the status of fisheries, forestry, agriculture, hydropower, water quality, wetlands, navigation and trade, climate change and flood management in the LMB and the interactions between them. The report provides readers with information about the ecological health of the Mekong river system, highlighting its resilience to current human induced pressures and also the threats it faces. It outlines some of the development
challenges facing water resources in